Monica Seles said if she doesn't get back on the tennis court by the end of 2006, she may hang up her racket.

Seles, a nine-time Grand Slam winner, attended a Manhattan luncheon in her honor Tuesday at a restaurant owned by actor Robert De Niro. She's joining the Laureus World Sports Academy, which brings sports and social programs to underprivileged youth around the world.

It may prove to be a transition into another career. Seles never officially retired, but last played a Grand Slam tournament in 2003. A broken bone in the ball of her right foot has hampered her return.

"I'm still training and still trying, but at the same time I'm realistic," Seles said. "After 2006, if not, then it's pretty sure. You have to move on."

Seles, a dominant player known for her loud grunts when hitting the ball, won three Grand Slam tournaments in both 1991 and 1992. Her meteoric rise was interrupted in 1993 when she was stabbed in the back by an obsessed fan of Steffi Graf at a tournament in Hamburg, Germany. Seles was ranked No. 1 at the time.